I tack on a final category, by the way, that I guess COULD be seen as an attempt to influence voters. There REALLY needs to be a Best Ensemble award at the Oscars. I don’t know, maybe I’m alone. But I always include it, nonetheless.

One final note, re: “The Fountain” and “Inland Empire.” I mentioned in Monday’s Top Ten column that those films, though they combine to form my #1 film of the year, are impossible to qualify. As such, you won’t see them listed in the Best Picture or Best Director categories because it’s, again, just too difficult to think of the films in those terms. There are various category mentions throughout for each, as varying elements of those films stick out as worthy of commendation. But otherwise, in the top two tiers, I’ve opted out of considering them. Hey, it leaves room for more!

We’ll wrap the year in review up on Friday with a final array of personal kudos. And then it’s Happy Holidays and hello 2007!

The ballot:

Best Picture
“Babel”
“Children of Men”
“The Departed”
“The Last King of Scotland”
“Shortbus”

Best Director
Alejandro González Iñárritu, “Babel”
Alfonso Cuarón, “Children of Men”
Martin Scorsese, “The Departed”
Kevin Macdonald, “The Last King of Scotland”
John Cameron Mitchell, “Shortbus”

Best Actor
Gael García Bernal, “The Science of Sleep”
Jude Law, “Breaking and Entering”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Departed”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, “Brick”
Forest Whitaker, “The Last King of Scotland”

Best Actress
Annette Bening, “Running With Scissors”
Judi Dench, “Notes on a Scandal”
Laura Dern, “Inland Empire”
Helen Mirren, “The Queen”
Kate Winslet, “Little Children”

Best Supporting Actor
Kevin Kline, “A Prairie Home Companion”
Sergi López, “Pan’s Labyrinth”
Jack Nicholson, “The Departed”
Kazunari Ninomiya, “Letters from Iwo Jima”
Jaden Smith, “The Pursuit of Happyness”

Best Supporting Actress
Adriana Barazza, “Babel”
Juliette Binoche, “Breaking and Entering”
Rinko Kikuchi, “Babel”
Brittany Murphy, “The Dead Girl”
Emma Thompson, “Stranger than Fiction”

Best Adapted Screenplay
“Children of Men”
“The Departed”
“The Last King of Scotland”
“The Painted Veil”
“Thank You for Smoking”

Best Original Screenplay
“Babel”
“Breaking and Entering”
“Brick”
“Shortbus”
“Stranger Than Fiction”

Best Art Direction
“Children of Men”
“Inland Empire”
“Perfume: The Story of a Murderer”
“The Prestige”
“Running With Scissors”

Best Cinematography
“Breaking and Entering”
“Children of Men”
“The Fountain”
“The Last King of Scotland”
“The Prestige”

Best Costume Design
“Curse of the Golden Flower”
“Dreamgirls”
“Marie Antoinette”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”
“The Prestige”

Best Film Editing
“The Departed”
“Inland Empire”
“The Last King of Scotland”
“Shortbus”
“United 93”

Best Makeup
“Pan’s Labyrinth”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”
“X-Men: The Last Stand”

Best Music – Original Score
“The Fountain”
“The Good German”
“Inside Man”
“Letters from Iwo Jima”
“Notes on a Scandal”

Best Sound Mixing
“Children of Men”
“The Departed”
“Dreamgirls”
“Happy Feet”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”

Best Sound Editing
“Flags of Our Fathers”
“Happy Feet”
“Miami Vice”
“Superman Returns”
“World Trade Center”

Best Visual Effects
“The Fountain”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”
“Superman Returns”

Best Ensemble Performance
“The Departed”
“Shortbus”
“Letters from Iwo Jima”
“Little Miss Sunshine”
“A Prairie Home Companion”

In Contention’s Year in Review
Monday: “A Good Year” Indeed: The Best Films of 2006